{{more citations needed|date=September 2015}} {{Infobox short story | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject Books --> | name = When the World Screamed | title_orig = | translator = | author = Arthur Conan Doyle | country = United Kingdom | language = English | series = Professor Challenger | genre = Science fiction | published_in = | publisher = | media_type = | pub_date = 1928 | english_pub_date = | preceded_by_italics = The Land of Mist | followed_by = The Disintegration Machine }}
"'''When the World Screamed'''" is a science fiction short story by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his character Professor Challenger. It was first published in ''Liberty'' magazine, from 25 February to 3 March 1928.
It is narrated in the first person by Mr Peerless Jones, an expert in artesian borings who is seen for the first time.
It is the fourth Professor Challenger story and retains only Challenger and Malone from the first novel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Book review: When the World Screamed by Arthur Conan Doyle (1928) |url=https://thelongvictorian.com/2017/11/06/book-review-when-the-world-screamed-by-arthur-conan-doyle-1928/ |website=The Long Victorian - c.1789 - 1914 |access-date=23 July 2021 |language=en |date=6 November 2017}}</ref>
==Plot summary== Professor Challenger, with the help of Mr Edward Malone and Mr Peerless Jones, drills into the earth until he reaches the mantle, convinced that it is a sentient being, and that by doing so he will be the first person to alert it to mankind's presence. He awakens the giant creature, which then proceeds to destroy his excavation, covering the spectators with a noxious liquid in the process.
==Reception== Arthur C. Clarke noted the story's similarities to Jack Williamson's 1934 novelette, "Born of the Sun," and the irony in naming of the later ''Glomar Challenger'' which drew deep-sea core samples from the Earth's crust.<ref>Arthur C. Clarke, ''Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography'' (New York: Bantam Books, 1990), 97-100.</ref> == References == {{Reflist}}
== See also == * 1928 in science fiction * ''The Lost World'' (1912 Conan Doyle novel) * ''The Poison Belt'' * ''The Land of Mist'' * "The Disintegration Machine"
==External links== {{wikisource}} * {{ISFDB title|62687+1}} * [http://www.classic-literature.co.uk/scottish-authors/arthur-conan-doyle/when-the-world-screamed/ When the World Screamed] at the Classic Literature Library * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WMD5mHpMH4 ''When the World Screamed'' audiobook with video at YouTube] * [https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/backofthebookshelf/id/19667048 ''When the World Screamed'' audiobook at Libsyn] * {{librivox book | title=When The World Screamed | author=Arthur Conan Doyle}}
{{Conan Doyle}} {{The Lost World}} {{DEFAULTSORT:When The World Screamed}} Category:1928 short stories Category:Professor Challenger short stories Category:Science fiction short stories Category:Works originally published in Liberty (general interest magazine)
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